Valentines Times Two
by Kris721
Summary: Duke finds out love is complicated the hard way.


Valentines Times Two

By: Kris Moyer (used to be Soltis…I got married in June!)

Disclaimer: I do not own GI Joe or the characters in this story. I hope you all like my first story in several years!

It was an average February day at Joe Headquarters. Many joes had filed into the cafeteria to get some mid day grub. Flint and Duke were sitting together at a small table discussing sports statistics while trying to get their minds off of Cobra for a few minutes. Cover Girl, who had finished her lunch, made her way towards them before exiting.

"Hi, boys" She greeted.

Both men replied with a polite "Hello".

"Duke, are we still on for coffee tomorrow?" Cover Girl asked placing a hand on Duke's shoulder.

"Sure, meet you at the coffee bar, same time, same place as last time" Duke nodded.

"Great, see you then!" Cover Girl smiled and went on her way. Flint chuckled under his breath.

"What?" Duke narrowed his eyes.

"How many off these coffee dates have you had with Cover Girl?" Flint asked with a smile.

"I don't know, maybe once a week since Christmas?" Duke asked.

"Have you told Cover Girl that you're canoodling with Scarlett?" Flint asked.

"Flint we aren't canoodling…" Duke trailed off. Flint raised one eyebrow.

"Well, it's no one's business but ours IF we are." Duke sighed.

"Still, have you told Cover Girl that you and Scarlett have pajama parties?" Flint got back to the question at hand.

"Well most of the time pajamas are not involved…" Duke answered.

Flint leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes, "You're having way too much fun with this…" He shook his head and then sat up straight. "Have you told Cover Girl that you're seeing Scarlett?" Duke started to answer but Flint cut him off, "I know, you're going to say 'you see A LOT of Scarlett'. Sorry, man, I beat you to the punch." Duke closed his mouth to change his answer since Flint already knew what his smart answer was going to be.

"No, I haven't told her. Cover Girl and I are just friends, friends who like coffee." Duke answered finishing what was left off his meal.

"I don't think Courtney thinks you're 'just friends'." Flint emphasized the 'just friends' using his fingers as quotation marks..

"I don't think she thinks of it as anything more but coffee. She hasn't said anything to me." Duke shrugged.

"You really are blind when it comes to females. Now I think I'm beginning to understand how you were a big star football player and you say girls didn't throw themselves at you. You just didn't see it."

"I think you are making something small into something big." Duke shook his head.

"I saw what she wore last week for coffee. If that shirt would have been any tighter I would have considered it her second skin" Flint tried to reason.

"It was a rather odd outfit to be wearing for coffee." Duke mused.

"Duke, I think you need to tell her that you're off the market. I have a feeling since that Christmas kiss…" Flint started but was interrupted.

"Don't remind me of that. My cheek still hurts." Duke rubbed his cheek where Scarlett had slapped him when she found out he shared a kiss with Cover Girl.

"Yeah, and the guys are still laughing when they watch the security tape." Flint chuckled, but then grew a straight face, "Seriously, Duke, have you talked to Cover Girl about the kiss after it happened?"

"Well, no, I mean it was a friendly kiss."

"Yes, I know on your end….but what about hers?" Flint countered.

"I see your point. I just don't want to hurt anyone's feelings." Duke sighed.

"I know, but it's the right thing to do. You're leading her on and that's not fair." Flint pointed out.

"I never thought of it that way. When we first started meeting for coffee, I don't think I had any idea there was an ulterior motive behind it…but in the last few weeks I have noticed a change when we meet. I couldn't put my finger on it, it just felt different. I just ignored it, hoping it was my imagination." Duke replied feeling bad that he had let things get so out of hand.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Boy Scout. What's done is done. You just have to do what's right. Tell her the truth." Flint wisely consoled.

"What do I say? God, I hate to think that I have to hurt her feelings." Duke sighed.

"It's better you tell her now then later when her feelings could get hurt even worse. I'm sure Scarlett can tell you what to say to soften the blow." Flint suggested. Duke drew in a huge breath and released it loudly. "You have told Scarlett about meeting Cover Girl for coffee…" Duke lowered his eyes to the ground. "Duke, come on. You haven't said anything? What is wrong with you?" Flint whispered fiercely.

"I don't know. I'm in a mess." Duke sighed. "Scarlett hasn't questioned what I do when I'm not on duty…and I don't question what she does…"

"So you thought that you could get away with not telling her that you were having private time with her least favorite person."

"You make it sound so bad." Duke frowned.

"It is, Duke. You are potentially ruining the best relationship you'll ever have."

"She gets so jealous of Cover Girl when she has no reason to be. I just didn't want her to feel that way."

"Women are an enigma. We'll never figure them out even though we try our damndest to. You think once you tell her she will thank you profusely for keeping her in the dark about all this?"

"Once again, I didn't think of it that way. I'm such an asshole." Duke rubbed his face with his hands.

"I think Scarlett will agree with you on that count, my friend." Flint sadly sighed.

"I thought I was doing the right things…trying to stay friends with Cover Girl…not telling Scarlett because I didn't want her to get jealous over nothing." Duke sighed.

"You'll find love is a lot like war. You need to think of what the other side is doing or what they are thinking so you have a better battle plan of your own. It took me a long time to come to that rationalization."

"You're not going to break out into 'Love is a Battlefield' are you?" Duke cringed.

Flint narrowed his eyes at Duke and continued, "I lost a lot of good girls because I was such an asshole. I don't want to see you mess this up with Scarlett."

"Maybe I should just forget everything. It was all so much simpler before we got together." Duke frowned with a furrowed brow.

"Break up with Scarlett?" Flint laughed. "I know you're just crazy talking now."

"Is it crazy?" Duke replied not sure of anything anymore.

"Duke, tell me, do you love her?" Flint asked. He could already see the answer on Duke's face.

"Yes, very much so.", he blushed.

"So why are you even entertaining crazy ideas in your head? Besides she would beat the living shit out of you. You don't want that on tape." Flint teased.

"Once again, my friend, you are right. So what do I need to do to get out of this mess?"

"Well, I would start with Scarlett. Tell her what's been going on and why you felt you needed to hide it. Be 100 truthful. She might slap you again, or she might throw things. Just let her know how sorry you are for keeping this from her." Flint advised.

"I'll make sure all sharp objects are out of her reach and she doesn't have her crossbow on her." Duke added in thought as he pictured the wrath of his red headed goddess.

"When you meet Cover Girl for coffee tomorrow, you have to tell her what's going on. She'll probably get mad too. Make sure you tell her before she orders a hot steaming cup of coffee. You don't want to get third degree burns on you when she throws it at you."

"If I'm telling Cover Girl tomorrow, then that means I need to tell Scarlett today." Duke frowned.

"Trust me, you need to do this now or things will get even more complicated." Flint advised. Duke nodded and glanced at his watch.

"We better get moving. We have another meeting in ten minutes, though I doubt I'll be able to concentrate on anything at this point." Duke sighed. Flint nodded and they disposed of their trays and left together.

Duke tried reaching Scarlett the rest of the day by phone in by pager but she never responded. It turned out that Hawk had put her on an overnight assignment and she wouldn't return until the day after his coffee date with Cover Girl. Duke decided he still would talk to Cover Girl at their coffee meeting. He wanted everything to be cleared up as quickly as possible. So the next day while waiting for Cover Girl to arrive at the base's coffee shop, he continued to blot his forehead with napkins. He couldn't believe how sweaty he was just thinking about what was about to evolve.

"Hey, Blondie," she called as she walked over to him. She was wearing tight fitting jeans and a belly shirt.

"Hi, Cover Girl," he nervously greeted.

"You know, we're off duty. You don't have to wear your uniform when we meet." She playfully teased and pulled at his shirt. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up to the counter to order their drinks.

"Can we talk before we order?" Duke found his voice.

"Sure." Cover Girl smiled and she led him to a table in the corner. "So, hey, what are you doing for Valentine's Day? It's tomorrow." She started.

"Well, I…" Duke began, but Cover Girl cut him off, "Personally I think it's a holiday created by Hallmark just to get people to spend money. I don't…" she got cut off by her beeper.

"Crap, looks like an emergency in the shop. I have to go." She smiled apologetically at Duke. "I'm sorry".

"Wait, I have to tell you…" Duke trailed off but she was already getting up to leave.

"Call me later and we'll set up another date to talk." She put her hand over his and squeezed it, "I'm really sorry I have to go." She hurried out of the shop leaving Duke hanging with what he had to say.

Later in the day, Duke joined Flint for dinner. Of course the first order of business that Flint wanted to discuss was Duke and his situation.

"So did you talk to Cover Girl?" Flint asked while cutting up his meatloaf.

"I was going to…" Duke trailed off.

Flint sighed loudly, "You've got to do it. It's not like you have a choice."

"I know! I was going to talk to her but she got called away for an emergency and I didn't have a chance. I've been trying to reach her for the rest of the day, but I can't get a hold of her."

"Well, keep trying, I guess. So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Flint changed the subject.

"Scarlett should be back to base in the morning. I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to do." Duke shrugged.

"Why don't you make her dinner in your quarters? Get the candles out, play soft music…I think she'd really like that." Flint suggested.

"That does sound nice. I did get her a present." Duke added.

"What is it?" Flint asked intrigued. Duke pulled a small velvet box from his shirt pocket and opened it to let Flint see the necklace that lay inside. Flint took the box to get a better look. It was a Celtic knot design in white gold.

"Wow, it's nice. Flint studied it knowing he saw the pattern before and was trying to place it. When he figured out what the pattern was he turned to Duke and said, "This is a Celtic Wedding Knot pattern."

"I know." Duke simply stated.

Flint grabbed Duke's shirt and pulled him in so close their shirts almost touched the food on their plates, "This is serious, bro. Are you asking Scarlett to marry you?"

Duke smiled, "I thought about asking her to marry me, but we haven't even talked about that yet. We just started this relationship and although I desperately want us to be together like that, I don't want to rush things. I'm hoping she'll wear this as a promise to say yes when I do ask her in the future."

"She's going to love it." Flint smiled and handed the box back.

"Her dad said she would." Duke added.

"You talked to her dad? Wow, this is getting serious."

"Well, I wanted to do the right thing for once." Duke smiled a lopsided smile. Flint started cleaning up his tray, "Where are you going?"

"I have to go shopping. Once Jaye hears about Scarlett's gift, I'm going to have to give her something that might be half as good as what you got." Flint sighed. Duke quickly finished his meal and decided to go back to his quarters to get things together for tomorrow.

The next day was tough for Duke. Scarlett and her group were going to be delayed several hours and Duke had five meetings on his slate before he would even have a chance to meet up with her. He also tried getting in touch with Cover Girl several times, but still couldn't reach her. Finally the fifth meeting wrapped up and he and Flint both stood up to exit the conference room.

"Go get her, tiger!" Flint laughed as how speedily Duke collected his things to leave. He made his way to her quarters and knocked softly on the door.

She pulled it open and put her hands on her hips.

"It's about time you came to see me, Solider", she said playfully. "Come on in." Duke entered and shut the door behind him. As soon as it clicked shut, he pulled her to him and enveloped her in a long passionate kiss.

"Happy Valentine's Day too" she smiled after they broke from the steamy kiss.

"I'm so glad your back. I need to tell you something." Duke began.

"You look serious. What's…" she trailed off as she felt a vibration against her hip.

"It's Hawk. I guess he wants the full report of the mission. I'll see you later?" she asked hopefully.

"Yeah, be at my quarters at 1900 hours. Don't eat before hand." Duke instructed. Scarlett saluted, "Yes, sir" and then snaked her hand down his chest over his belt

and then over his pants, "Oh my, feels like someone is saluting me back."

"Tonight, you can thank him for his attentive nature." Duke whispered

seductively in her ear. He felt a shiver go through her.

"I'll see you later then", she kissed him quickly as they both walked out.

Duke had spent the remainder of the late afternoon cooking and straightening up for his romantic dinner for Scarlett. She knocked on his door promptly at 1900. He opened the door and smiled. She was wearing his favorite shirt. It was a dark green and showed off ample cleavage. She also wore black pants with a sash belt.

"You look gorgeous, as always." Duke smiled as he let her in.

"It smells wonderful and you look wonderful." Scarlett complimented back. Duke smoothed over his light blue shirt which he matched with khaki pants.

"Dinner's almost ready. Why don't you have a seat at the table", Duke escorted her over and lit the candles for atmosphere.

"This is wonderful. I can't imagine a more perfect Valentine's." Scarlett smiled as she took a seat.

"It only gets better from here." Duke smiled as he turned back into the kitchen. He was so glad Scarlett was enjoying herself. He was trying to figure out the perfect moment to give her, her gift. He heard a knock at the door. Scarlett looked at him questioningly. "I don't know who that is, but if it's not important I'm giving them KP duty for a month."

"While you answer the door, I'm going to pop into the bathroom" Scarlett got up.

Duke opened the door to find Cover Girl standing on the other side of it with a trench coat on. Duke almost fainted right on the spot. She walked into his quarters.

"Cover Girl, what are you doing here?" he managed to ask as he closed the door.

"Sorry I haven't called you back but I didn't want to give away the surprise," she smiled coyly.

"What surprise?"

"Well, I know when we were meeting you said you wanted to talk. I figured you'd be thinking about Valentine's Day and I already had something cooked up for you. Speaking of cooking, are you making dinner?" Cover Girl looked around. She saw the table set for two and candles. "Oh Duke, this is lovely. So you were going to surprise me, too?"

"Uh, something like that" Duke answered nervously.

"So back to my surprise…" Cover Girl raised her eyebrow with a smile.

"Are we going somewhere?" he asked indicating her coat, "I can't really go out because I have food on the stove.."

"No, I didn't plan on going out." Cover Girl answered softly and unbuttoned her trench coat and let it drop to the floor. Duke swallowed hard and took small steps backward until he hit a wall. Cover Girl stood before him in a green skimpy lingerie top and panties that left nothing to the imagination. She wore cream colored thigh highs and black leather boots with stiletto heels.

"Duke, there's no…" Scarlett trailed off looking at the scene in front of her. Water began boiling over on the stove creating a hissing sound. She turned to look at Duke for an explanation and then back to Cover Girl.

"This wasn't for me…This was for her..." Cover Girl pieced together. She looked up clearly embarrassed and quickly snatched her coat. In one swoop moment she had her coat on and she was out the door. Duke just stayed frozen and wished he could make himself invisible, or turn back time, or just do something so he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of what just happened.

"Duke, what's going on? Why was she here, and dressed like that?" Scarlett asked confused with a hint of jealously in her voice.

"I can explain, just let me take care of the stove." Duke calmly answered starting to retreat to the kitchen.

"NO! Leave the food, and explain!" she demanded. Duke could see the storm raging in her eyes. Duke led her over to the couch and they both had a seat.

"I've been meeting Cover Girl for coffee." Duke revealed. He shut his eyes waiting for whatever she was about to dish out.

"I know," Scarlett said softly. Duke opened his eyes and looked at her. He could see her eyes begin to water with tears.

"You knew?" he answered with surprise.

"People talk, Conrad. It's not like you both were invisible," she spat out and then softened, "I knew I could trust you so I let the rumors roll off my back. I figured at least if they were talking about you and Cover Girl, it would be less likely for them to find out we were really together. I was sure you had a good reason as to why you weren't telling me about the coffee dates, but I guess I was wrong," her lip was trembling.

"Shana, nothing happened. To me, we were having coffee as friends….somehow on her end it was more than that." Duke tried to explain.

"Something had to have happened for her to come here tonight dressed like that. Or was it something that didn't happen? Did you tell her we're together?" Scarlett wanted to know. Duke shook his head. Scarlett stood up quickly, bringing Duke to his feet too,

"Like you said, people talk. I figured she already knew." Duke tried to patch the situation.

"Stop giving me excuses. Deep down you knew it was wrong not to tell her. You just didn't want to hurt her feelings…so instead you'd rather hurt mine." Scarlett turned and walked to the door.

"I didn't want anyone's feelings to be hurt." Duke sighed standing in front of the door so she couldn't leave.

"I thought you were different, but you're a jerk like the rest of them." Scarlett pushed him out of the way and opened the door.

"Shana, please, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry I came here tonight,"

"Aren't you at least going to slap me or something?"

"That would require me caring about you and right now….I don't know," she slipped down the hallway not turning back. Duke turned and went back into his quarters. He could smell burnt sauce.

"Ruined, everything's ruined," he muttered. He went into the kitchen to assess the damage.

Scarlett walked around base not facing anyone she passed. Her eyes were puffy and anyone would be able to tell she had been crying. Somehow she found herself in front of Cover Girl's quarters. She paused and knocked on the door.

"I'm not in the mood for visitors" a voice called from in the room.

"Courtney, it's Shana," Scarlett called out. She heard the lock click and Cover Girl emerged, remnants of smeared make up on her cheeks.

"Come in," she opened the door to let the woman in. They both sat down on the couch and stayed silent for what seemed like eternity.

"This is awkward." Scarlett finally broke the silence.

"No, awkward is you seeing me in….that…that…outfit." Cover Girl replied.

"True." Scarlett agreed.

"Why did you come here?" Cover Girl asked.

"I don't know, I was just walking unsure of where to go and I stopped here. I guess I still need some answers as to what is going on and I don't know if I can trust Duke to tell me the truth. You don't even like me that much so I know you'll have no problem telling me the truth no matter how hard it might be for me to hear what is going on with the two of you." Scarlett spoke trying to get her self confidence back.

"Nothing is going on, unfortunately on my end. I heard rumors that after Christmas you and Duke had gotten together, but when Duke asked me for coffee it still gave me hope that the kiss meant something to him. Especially because he never came out and told me himself that it was true that you two were together. Deep down, I knew the rumors were true but I wouldn't admit it to myself. After awhile I was lying to myself so much that it felt like the truth. He never gave me any indication that he wanted to be any more than friends, but I kept pushing…thinking that something might just make him change his mind." Cover Girl explained.

"Why did you kiss him to begin with? You knew I liked him. I shared that with you a few weeks prior. I was trying to be friends with you. I confided in you." Scarlett continued to question her.

"Duke and I started getting paired up on assignments a lot in December. I guess the closer I got to him the more I felt the same feelings you described what you felt for him. I had an opportunity and I didn't want to miss it. I'm sorry. It was wrong." Cover Girl apologized.

"I'm glad you realize you were in the wrong, but I don't know if I can forgive you…..or him" Scarlett honestly answered and stood up.

"Don't blame him, Scarlett. He was trying to protect both of us. He didn't want to hurt my feelings and he didn't want you to be upset. That sounds like a pretty great guy to me. I was the one who was trying to start something. I'm just longing to have someone too." Cover Girl pleaded.

"You both extremely hurt me. I want you to know that." Scarlett crossed her arms in front of her.

"You don't have to give me another chance, but give Duke one. I'm sure he wishes he could turn the clock back and do everything over."

"Time will tell I guess." Scarlett shrugged and headed for the door.

"I'm really sorry, Scarlett. And I hope one day we can be acquaintances if not friends." Cover Girl apologized again as she opened the door to let Scarlett out.

"Just leave Duke alone and maybe I can learn to trust you again." Scarlett replied before closing the door behind her.

Cover Girl had given her a little more clarity on the whole situation. She was still mad at Duke, but was it enough to throw away the special bond that she felt she had with him? She decided to go back to his quarters and talk with him to see if this relationship was something she wanted to salvage. She got to his quarters and knocked on the door. There was no answer so she tried again this time calling out, "Duke, it's Scarlett". She heard footsteps come to the door and then heard the lock unclick.

"I didn't think you'd be back." Duke softly said in almost a whisper. She knew he meant back in a sense more than back at his quarters.

"I didn't know if I was coming back. I still don't" Scarlett answered as he opened the door wider to let her in.

"Well, coming here is the first step I suppose" Duke answered hopefully.

"I'm still mad at you, don't think everything is ok now that I've had some time to cool off." Scarlett made clear.

"What I did was wrong. I should have told Cover Girl about us. It's just-she looked like she needed a friend. I don't think she has truly bonded with anyone on base." Duke tried to explain.

"I guess I have some apologizing to do too." Scarlett replied.

"You didn't do anything wrong." Duke shook his head.

"Yes, I did. I made you feel like you couldn't tell me about Cover Girl. You just wanted to protect my feelings. I'm sorry for that. We should be able to share everything. We need to share everything for this relationship to work." Scarlett continued. Duke took her hand and they sat down on the couch.

"I love you, Shana and I'm sorry for all that I've done. And I agree, no more secrets." Duke put the palm of his hand to the side of her cheek. He felt a few tears on his hand. "Why are you crying?"

"They're happy tears. I've been waiting for you to tell me that for a long time." Scarlett wiped them away with her own hand.

"What? That I love you?" Duke asked. Scarlett nodded.

"Shana, I've always loved you. That's never been a question to me." Duke replied stroking her hair.

"I love you too" Scarlett whispered. Duke brought his head so it rested on hers and he closed his eyes basking in the warmth of her spoken words. He remembered the present sitting on the table and got up to get it.

"Where are you going?" she curiously asked.

"Well, dinner may be ruined but I think I might be able to salvage Valentine's Day." Duke smiled with a twinkle in his eye.

"Sorry about the dinner. I'm sure you worked hard on it." Scarlett apologized.

"I'll cook for you again sometime, and I'm not going to open the door for anyone." Duke added. Scarlett gave a small laugh. He came back over with the box and placed it in Scarlett's hands.

"Happy Valentine's Day, my love." Duke kissed her on the cheek as she opened the box carefully. She gently pulled the pendant and chain from the box.

"Conrad, it's beautiful," she breathed as she studied it. "Oh, I can't accept this. It's too much."

"But I picked it out especially for you. It was shipped from Ireland directly."

"But this knot means, well it's just not any other knot."

"I know. It's a Celtic Wedding Knot." Duke replied wanting to impress Scarlett with his knowledge.

"It's a Celtic Wedding Knot…" Scarlett trailed off digesting what Duke had just said, "You know this is a Celtic Wedding Knot?"

"Shana I love you so much and there isn't anything in this world I wouldn't do for you. I bought you this pendant because I would hope you would accept it and wear it as a promise to someday be my wife." Duke nervously responded. Scarlett began to tear up again. "I hope these are more good tears". Scarlett nodded not being able to speak for a moment.

"This means so much to me. You have no idea." Scarlett smiled.

"Well, when I talked to your dad about it, he said he had given one to your mother asking her to promise herself to him. I knew that was the gift I had to give you."

'You talked to my dad about all this? And he didn't come here with my brothers and fight you?" Scarlett asked in shock.

"No, in fact he gave me a blessing and said I would make a fine addition to the O'Hara family." Scarlett sat up and became serious.

"This is a huge commitment, Conrad. I don't know if we're ready for this, especially in light of the events that happened today."

"I love you so much and I regret the position I put you in." Duke grabbed her hands in her own. They both sat in silence. Duke could see Scarlett was in deep thought about what decision to make.

"I forgive you." Scarlett finally answered. A wave of relief swept over Duke.

"But you haven't answered me if you'll wear it. Will you promise to be true to me as I am sworn by the knot to be true to you?"

"I promise" Scarlett nodded and Duke helped her put the necklace on.

"I love you, Shana" Duke smiled amazed at how the pendant looked radiant on her.

"And to think I came here ready to kick your ass." Scarlett laughed as she leaned into him.

"At least it would have been in closed quarters. Flint tells me the guys still watch the footage of you slapping me at Christmas." Duke laughed back.

"Well, if you want me to get rough with you…I know just the place." Scarlett whispered nudging her head towards Duke's bedroom.

"Mmm, I think you just might need to reprimand me." Duke grinned and pulled her to her feet. He swiftly picked her up to her surprise. "I know you like a man of action," and with that carried her into the bedroom.


End file.
